I find it hard to believe that people are attributing a ping to deposits on an 05 engine. I am a tad older than some folks on here and recall the days of regular leaded gas and annual tune ups. We used to run the cars at like 80 (LOL) to get rid of deposits. That's something we do not hear about and especially not in a brand new engine!

I have never heard a ping from my 3.5. My 3.0 95 maxima would ping now and then in the summer, but I was using regular gas and switched to mid grade.

 

My new '05 pings like a bastard. I attributed it initially to the first fill-up from the dealership. I figured they probably put in 87 or something, but now I am on my third tank of chevron 93 and it still pings - although not as bad. I am going to make a list of things for my first service visit to have addressed.

 

Well thought I would chime in and take back my previous comments.. the axle nuts do jack sh** for resolving the pinging noise... I guess I'm starting to loose my patience so I'll be taking it in again soon for that.. anyone here have any luck resolving it? I honestly don't think the noise is actual pinging.. i mean I hear this noise at 3k rpm sometimes in 2nd gear ... there should be no pinging at this point... anyways, the noise tends to go away as the drivetrain warms up... my guess is that it has something to do with the transmission & the dual friction clutch... perhaps this noise is also related to that cement truck sound which the 6mt emmits occasionally while it is idling.

So anyone had any luck resolving this? If so, please state the name of your service advisor, the name of the dealership, and any other additional information you can provide.

 

Just took my 05 6MT (>18k miles) in to my local Nissan dealer, he says this sound is particular to the 05's and is due to the VVT on both intake and exhaust. He says the older VQs have the same noise (almost diesel-like), but it's not quite as prominant because pre-05 VQs are only VVTi. He says it's perfectly normal, it's just the self-adjusters doing their job.

 

So I called every dealership in California. Most dealers have never heard of this problem...

I mean, c'mon, if it's so typical and common, how can they not have heard of it... must have something to do with the fact that only 10% of all sedans / coupes sold come with the manual tranny.

Anyways, out of all the dealers I called, only 2 had a good explanation. I will only discuss one.

Tom Howser, from Palm Springs Infiniti said that all modern engines do this and that it is totally normal. His explanation was that the g starts out with its timing advanced all the way for maxium performance... as you drive gently, there will be no pinging and you will hear no noises. However, if you start driving more aggressively, then pinging will occur and the ecu will retard the timing to compensate. Any aggressive driving thereafter will be on the retarted timing settings.

If you stop driving aggressively for a few minutes, and drive smoothly, once again the ecu will sense there is no pinging and will advance the timing as far as it can without experiencing pining... so if you decide to start stepping on it again, it will ping for a bit again until the ecu retards the timing again.

As I've read on various VQ35 forums, this is referred to as "living off the knock sensor" and can only be resolved by running higher octane fuel such as 93 or higher which, unfortunately, is unavailable in California (and who wants to run 100 octane for $6/gallon...?

Anyways, I have an appointment this friday with an infiniti dealership to get this issue, and a few others, taken care of. I'll post an update of my visit.

 

Actually, not much of an update....its still pinging. But what bythabay describes is exactly what I am experiencing...pinging in low RPM's under load for brief moments, until the timing is retarded. Its worse when the engine is warm. Pretty much what I think the owner's manual suggests its supposed to do. I did run a tank with a bottle of Chevron Techron in it, but the pinging is still hangin' around. Yes, still running 93 octane only, primarily Chevron. I did have a tank that pinged quite a bit more, like every time I shifted into the next gear, but I am willing to bet it was a bad tank of gas.

I had the dealer look at the problem again just yesterday, and they ran the usual battery of tests on all the sensors, along with a code check (no CEL showing). Everything showed operating within parameters. The service writer has offered to drive the car with the computer attached to determine if something is occurring intermittently, which I will take him up on in the near future.

I am pretty much resigned to the fact that its just "a VQ35 thing" to live off the knock sensor.

 

Could you please PM me your VIN or full name or invoice # so that I could reference your case for my service appointment tomorrow?

Thanks!

 

I have never heard pinging on my 05 G35 5A...

 

It is most pronounced on the 6mt Gs due to the lack of a torque converter. (Specifically the 06s and the 05s due to extreme engine tuning to "extract maximum performance from the fuel" as per owner's manual..

 

Anyone get this pining issue fixed yet?

 

Have you tried the new plugs yet? I got the same plugs last week(NGK 1 step colder irridiums), and I plan on putting them in tonight.

 

Have not gotten it fixed yet. It went in for an oil change and other minor issues (including the pinging) last week, the service adviser took it home, but could not hear the pinging. I will take someone for a test drive next week for the pinging when I take it back to them for a new transmission (6th gear grind).

What new plugs? Are they for the 07, or just new NGK's recently released? I may try something like this after I have exhausted all warranty avenues. If you can, please share your results, including difficulty of installation.

Interesting, if you read the .pdf on the new VQ35HR engine, there is a blurb on one of the pages that references better coolant flow for reduced detonation. Hmmmmmm.

 

I'm sorry, I was asking ByThaBay. I noticed in another thread that he just bought some NGK plugs, the same that I purchased.

 

The plugs just came in to the dealership and I haven't had a chance to pick them up yet. I had an ASE certified master tech test drive my car last night and he indeed confirmed that there is a ping under load in the lower rpm range. He said there are a few things which they need to check which they probably aren't checking. He said that the dealer probably won't see any problems if the sensors tell them there are no problems, but the sensors is what they need to test. He said something about checking the o2 sensors for being "lazy" .. since they may be seeing a "rich" command, they're probably leaning out the A/F ratio and this is causing the pinging. There are a couple of other things he mentioned as well which I have written down on a card and I'm going to bring it to the dealer on wednesday (which is when I have my appointment to have them check out the pinging). Rob at Z car also drove my sedan and said that it does ping in the lower rpm range. If they test all the sensors and everything is still okay, then I might have to either force them to try colder plugs or put them in myself.. i think they should pay though

 

I put in the colder plugs and I'm quite certain they made a significant impact on the intensity and duration of the pinging. Regardless, it is still there. I do, however, feel there is more power - and I attribute that to timing not being pulled as quickly (because there is less pinging).